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The Argos waltzed out of Montreal with a Grey Cup berth, but it didn't come easy. Even head coach Scott Milanovich admitted in a post-game interview that his team did not play its best football and would have to be better if they hoped to win a Grey Cup. Here's our five suggestions for making that happen.

1. Stop already with the unnecessary risks. For whatever reason, Milanovich and company decided it would be a good idea to gamble on third and almost two from the Montreal 51. That's quite the gamble when the game is barely eight minutes old and the opposition is only up 3-0 at that point. It makes perfect sense to want to get off to a good start on the road and take the opposing crowd out of it. We get that. But the distance was just too big. Instead of taking the crowd out of it, Milanovich and company got the crowd more revved up than ever. Playing host to the Calgary Stampeders this weekend, the urgency for an early lead is obviously lessened so it's unlikely that Milanovich would make a similar call again. Going for it on third and one from the Montreal goal line a few series later is one you can hardly blame the head coach for, although bringing Jarious Jackson in for all three goal-line attempts seemed to make the Argos' intentions rather predictable.

2. Figure out those third-and-short situations. Jackson has made career out of getting that one yard, but for whatever reason he and the Argos offensive line weren't able to get the job done on Sunday. It's the reason the game was the nail-biter it was. If the Argos had converted on even even half of these opportunities the Alouettes never would have got out to the lead it did, forcing the Argos to come all the way back in the third quarter. We can't put all of this on Jackson. The O-line needs to get a push on plays like these and they were being beaten at the line by the Montreal defenders. This seems like more of a one-game problem than a recurring thing for the Argos, but it's something they need to get fixed if they are going to get past the Stampeders.

3. Contain the run game early on. Chris Jennings is the Alouettes' third-string running back but the Argos made him look like a regular starter in the early going. In the first half, Jennings carried the ball six times for a total of 68 rushing yards and a touchdown. And while the Argos defence slowed him down considerably in the second half, this early succeptibility to the run has to be a concern with Jon Cornish and the Stamps coming into town. The Argos were similarly troubled by the run game in the first half of the Eastern semifinal against Edmonton. The Eskimos rushed for 90 yards on 14 carries in the first and then had just 41 total rushing yards in the second. Again, if the Argos let Cornish build up a head of steam in that first half, the Stamps will gladly put the offence on his shoulders. Figuring out the run early on will be a key to taking control of the game.

4. Be special on special teams. Special teams have long been a staple of the Argos' success, or lack thereof. When they are winning, the special teams units are either providing some eye-popping returns, holding their own against the opposition, or (and this is more two seasons ago than this) continuing drives with well-timed fakes. Toronto has not had to go to the trick special teams plays as often this year with a functioning offence to turn to, but on Sunday's game the Double Blue were victims of a trick play on special teams when the Alouettes faked a punt on a third and 13 from its own 50 and picked up the first down when Chip Cox rumbled exactly 13 yards. Now every team is susceptible to an odd breakdown but the Argos, who have run these plays on numerous occasions over the past two seasons, should be a little more wise to them. The Als were held to a field goal on that drive but those three points could wind up being the difference in the championship game.

5. Score when you can smell the end zone. Red Zone efficiency has been a bugaboo of the Argos for most of the season and while it looked to be improving later in the season, it was an issue again on Sunday. Until Ricky Ray hit Dontrelle Inman with that two-yard TD pass in the third quarter, the Argos, as a team, had not gained a single yard on five attempts inside the Montreal 10-yard line. On one occasion they settled for a Swayze Waters field goal and on the other drive they turned the ball over on downs after three unsuccessful attempts from the one-yard line. The Argos were dead last in red zone efficiency this season with a 44% success rate. They got away with a handful of missed opportunities against Montreal, but a repeat could be the team's undoing in the Grey Cup.